Attachment for hospital beds



E. W. JIMMERSON ATTACHMENT F'oR HOSPITAL BEDS July 5-, 1932,

Filed July 8, 1929 T} I Z 11v VEN TOR B Y [M 14/ JmmQ/Jan %7g(/ A TTOR NE y Patented July 1932 EVA W. JIMIVIERSON,

ladtfilSd OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS Application filed July 8,

My invention relates to improvements in hospital beds and has for one of its objects to provide an attachment for such beds whereby a limb of a patient may be conveni5 iently and comfortably supported on the bed in a predeterminable fixed position.

It is frequently desirable and even necessary to support the injured leg or arm of a patient at a certain elevation or at a certain angle to the rest of the body. Heretofore the limb of a patient has been supported upon a cushion or pillow placed upon the bed. Such expedient, while it provided a comfortable support for the limb, had the disadvantage that the pillow was easily displaced from position by movement of the patient so that the.

original setting of the limb was changed. This expedient had also a further disadvantage in that, because of the yielding nature of the pillow, the limb was not held in fixed position thereupon but was allowed to shift freely.

The present invention aims to provide an attachment for hospital beds by means of which the limb of a patient may be supported comfortably upon a cushion or pillow in such manner that the limb is retained within the trough formed by the limb in the pillow, the limb being prevented from shifting upon the pillow and the pillow itself being prevented from the being moved upon the bed as the patient shifts his body upon the bed.

I accomplished such objects by providing a rigid support adapted to rest upon the bed and held in fixed position thereupon by being clamped or otherwise detachably secured to the bed. This support is adapted to receive a pillow or other cushioning element and is preferably in the form of a basket within which the pillow is adapted to rest in fixed position. A pair of opposite ends of such basket may be provided with cut-outs, the pillow being arranged to cover the latter. The basket is so arranged upon the bed that the foot or arm of the patient overlies these cut-outs in such manner that a trough is formed in the pillow, the sides of the cutouts preventing lateral shifting of such leg or arm upon the pillow. In this manner there 1929. Serial No. 376,739.

is provided a comfortable support for the limb of a patient, and such limb, without any pressure being exert-ed thereupon, it at the same time prevented from shifting its position upon the bed.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification is shown by way of example a form of my invention; Fig. 1 showing a view in perspective of a hospital ed having my novel attachment in place thereon; while Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the basket and its adjustable clamp.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates a bed of any suitable construction, such as that commonly employed in hospitals. The horizontal frame of the bed is indicated at 11 and may be of angular, tubular or other cross-section. The frame is adapted to support aspring in the well-known manner; upon the spring rests a mattress 12 of any suitable type.

The attachment forming the subject matter of the present invention comprises a pair of vertical rods 13 which are clamped in any suitable manner, as by means of clamps 14, to the frame 11 of the bed. A basket 15 is adapted to be supported upon the rods 13 and to rest upon the mattress 12 of the bed. The basket is adapted to receive a pillow upon which the limb of the patient is supported. One pair of opposite ends of the basket 15 is provided with aligned cut-outs 16 which are preferably of curved form. The pillow is adapted to extend beyond these cut-outs and to be depressed thereinto by the limb of the patient, thus forming a trough within which such limb is received.

The basket may be made of solid or continuous material, but I prefer to make the same of wire mesh as shown in the drawing. The basket may be mounted for vertical adjustment, and to this end the rods 13 are received in openings 17 in the body of the clamps 14 and are secured in adjusted position by screws 18.

In order to prevent the pillow from falling off the side of the bed, the outer side of the basket is made somewhat higher than the other sides.

If desired, the basket and pillow may be combined into a single cushion or padded element preferably provided with a trough shaped to receive comfortably the arm or leg of a patient. Also, only one rod 13 and associated clamp 14 may be employed to hold the basket 16 on the bed.

Various other modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

An attachment for beds suitable for use in supporting the limb of a patient and holding the same against lateral displacement, comprising a substantially square basket element having a flat bottom so as to rest stably directly upon the surface of a bed, one side of said basket being cut away for at least a portion of its length, whereby a trough may be formed by the limb of a patient in a pillow positioned in said basket, and means for detachably securing the basket to said bed to hold such basket against displacement upon the surface of the bed, said means comprising rods extending downwardly from two adjacent corners of said basket, and clamps attaching said rods to the frame of the bed.

Signed at Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 26th day of June, A. D. 1929.

EVA W. J IMMERSON. 

